Morrow's Anomaly
by indigorhob
Summary: An audio-animatronic recruiter meets a mysterious OC with limited memories and a strange skillset. Set before the events of the movie, the fate of both yesterday and tomorrow hangs in the balance. Rated M for potential violence,swearing, and mild sexual content/suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

 _"Since the dawn of recorded history, Mankind has boldly pursued its destiny, bolstered by an unwavering belief in progress._

 _Yet, progress has a dark cost-"_

I turn off the monitor, disregarding the sudden drop of white noise in my room. Today was the day _he_ would be sent back to Earth. Pretty soon my function as a recruiter would become null and void, and it will only be a matter of time before Nix decides that I was unnecessary.

Fear is not a part of our programming, but perhaps the thought of disassembly was more than capable to simulate such an emotion within me. With hands trembling in a way I did not know I was capable of, I opened the door and prepared to go to the roof and watch _him_ get escorted out of our world.

There was a man standing outside my room.

He looked to be around his 20's, with a buzz cut-type hairstyle that complements his completely clean look. His face, for a person his gender and age, was devoid of facial hair save for his eyebrows and trimmed sideburns. Both his irises and his hair were a shade of black. He was dressed casually in a plain white t-shirt, olive cargo shorts, and grey sneakers.

"May I help you?" I ask cautiously, noting how he seemed—no, he was clearly lost. Not simply lost like someone who cannot find their way, but lost like someone who doesn't belong.

"Yes, umm…" He replies, looking befuddled yet assertive at the same time. "I think I'm a little lost, miss…"

"I'm Athena," I replied and stuck a hand out, "And you are?"

"Oscar," He shook my hand with a smile, even with my high-grade optics I couldn't tell if it was a sincere smile or a grin. It looked like a bit of both, "Oscar Chase."

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Boy Meets Robot Girl**

"How exactly did you get here?" I asked Oscar Chase as he followed me to the rooftop. Far down below I could see Frank Walker being escorted out of the building. There's a high chance that they would get rid of me next.

"I don't really know," he replied, rubbing his nape like it was a mannerism. "I just woke up here. You were the first person I saw."

I started walking back downstairs, expecting Nix to be waiting for me in my room. Oscar Chase followed beside me, asking questions about what's going on. I explained as much as my programming would allow, avoiding any information that was deemed classified or confidential.

"There's this nagging feeling at the back of my head…," Oscar Chase continued, "…feels like my brain is withholding a lot of information from me."

"I can help with that," I replied and balled my hand into a fist. "Maybe your head needs a hard restart."

"T-there's no need for that!" He chuckled nervously, waving his arms around in such a silly manner that it could easily ruin my first impression of him. I speculated that he must be some sort of childish young adult.

Oscar Chase. Everything about him piqued my interest, like he was some sort of walking paradox. I can't properly process the information yet, but the fact that he was in a place he shouldn't be in plus the fact that he doesn't clearly remember how he got here…

Unfortunately, I cannot waste any energy thinking of his situation until I have fully handled mine.

I had decided that I did not want to be disassembled. Perhaps if continued on recruiting…

"What exactly is it that you do here Athena?" Oscar Chase asked, almost catching me by surprise. Almost.

"I _was_ in charge of finding potential individuals that could contribute towards scientific breakthroughs."

"Was?"

"That function is deemed unnecessary now." I replied without looking at him, afraid (?) that he might see that I've become…upset. "Basically, I'm obsolete now."

"Obso- Wait, what do you mean?" He stopped walking and so have I.

"I expect to be shut down and disassembled soon." I replied and looked at him, keeping as straight a face as my hardware would allow. He seems to have seen through it, though.

"You mean they're going to kill you?!" He practically shouted, although it was more of a surprised exclamation than an actual shout. His kind demeanor switched to obvious worry and I could hardly comprehend how someone I just met showed genuine concern for me.

After all, I'm just a robot.

* * *

"They're not going to kill me," The beautiful girl beside me replied, "They're going to shut me down and disassemble me."

How she said that with such a poker face I'll never know. But it was pretty obvious she was no normal girl. Meanwhile, my head, my goddamn head just keeps trying to tell me something. But I just can't understand, like my brain has not completely regained its full functionality yet.

"Wait, you're a robot?" I asked, finally getting what she's been implying.

"Audio-animatronic." She replied. That nagging feeling in my head still won't let up.

I know this.

I know what's going on.

I just can't remember it yet, my brain won't let me.

"H-hold on," I kept stopping her from walking, somehow knowing that if she keeps on walking, she **will** be disassembled eventually. "That still counts as killing you, right?"

"Does it?" She said with a stern look, and yet…she seemed troubled. "I'm not exactly human."

"Still…" I was speechless. First of all, here I am finding myself in some weird ass sci-fi city, and now I'm talking to a robot that looks like a 12 year old girl trying to convince her that she's about to die. "Does that not scare you?"

She looked at me again, that serious face of hers. I was, suffice to say, stunned.

Mesmerized.

Enthralled.

And whatever words you can think of that would describe this feeling… well I guess there would be no words good enough. I doubt it would even be possible to justify _this feeling_.

"I…" She paused for a little too long. For a moment I was afraid I broke her or something. I was intent on saving this robot girl, imagine how ironic it would be if I accidentally broke her. "I don't want to die."

I only noticed that we were outside her room when she suddenly rushed inside. I followed her inside and saw (in awe-struck silence) her taking her clothes off.

"Okay…" I tried to speak while savoring the image unfolding before me, "…wow."

She started picking though her other 'non-sci-fi looking' outfits and settled with a simple dress.

' _Quite different to what she wore in the movie,_ ' My brain told me.

Wait,what?

* * *

I did my best in picking an outfit that would make it easy to blend in. I've been in this place for a while and haven't been properly updated with the current trends of Earth.

Maybe Oscar Chase knows?

"Is this acceptable?" I asked holding out the dress that I was planning on wearing. It was similar to what I wore when Frank and I met years ago, but this one was tailored to look more 'modern'.

"Hell yes," He whispered, sounding like someone with a lung problem. Was something bothering him?

"Is my state of undress bothering you?" I asked, wondering if it's already considered bothersome for adults to see children with no clothes on. I don't remember it being a huge issue during the previous years. "Don't worry, I maybe female but I was designed to look like a child. But if this troubles you…"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Oscar Chase replied, his body stiffening while his face was clearly blushing. "It's not that I'm bothered. I'd rather use the term 'enthusiastically shocked'."

"If you say so," I replied and put on the proper underwear and other accessories before wearing the dress. It was short enough which was good, it wouldn't hinder me in case we needed to run or fight.

I checked my storage drawer if I had spare pins. I needed a whole pack to have a chance at recruiting at least one genius individual. Maybe, just maybe, and with the right encouragement he or she might be able to save us from this predicament.

If all else fails, we still got a couple of years before Frank's fears from his invention become a reality.

The odds are incredibly against us though.

* * *

After witnessing such an incredible display that left me breathless and speechless, Athena was already dragging me along with her towards another exit. I assumed that this meant she did not want to be destroyed and was probably trying to sneak out.

"Now what are we gonna do?" I asked simply because I've been running around with this girl without knowing what exactly is going on and what we're doing about it.

"We're gonna go to Earth," She replied, "And I'm going to prove that there's someone out there that can fix this mess. I'm going to prove that I'm not obsolete."

"Wait, so we're not at Earth right now?"

"Technically," she said, not even bothering to look my way as we hurriedly snuck around. "We're at a different Earth. A different dimension."

 _Dimension_

 _Different Earth_

 _Remind you of something, Oscar?_

I tried my best to shut my brain up, annoyed by the voice in my head that was most likely my own. My brain was trying to remember, problem was it's being a huge dick about it.

We were already outside, but I saw that we were headed into yet another building. Unfortunately, this one was surrounded by robots.

Not the kind of robots that I expected after seeing Athena,mind you. Big-ass Real Steel-esque robots.

"Are those guys, by any chance on our side?" I asked, but was answered by a laser bullet. It barely missed me as I looked back to see a burning spot on the ground.

"What do you think?" Athena asked as she jumped inhumanly high to tackle one of the robots, leaving me to wonder what the hell I am supposed to do. She didn't exactly give me any gun or self-defense weapons or anything.

The other robot noticed me and stopped trying to help the other one being attacked by Athena. It started walking menacingly toward me and began to aim a cannon-looking arm.

 _This is it_ , I thought, expecting death. Not wanting to go down without a fight I started sprinting towards the robot, hoping to dodge its attack at the last second.

It fired and my reflexes were fast enough to allow me to dodge.

 _Now what_?

* * *

I finished incapacitating the robot I was on and saw that I had left Oscar Chase to fend for himself. I did not prioritize protecting him as I was not programmed to prioritize the safety of anyone who I did not recruit. Sure, I felt bad about leaving him to die, but I had it justified.

He didn't seem to need help though.

As things considerably get stranger, Oscar Chase started running towards his enemy robot. The strangest part was, his veins were glowing white. It was like he had some kind of power source inside his body fueling him and allowing him to do what a mere human can't.

I watched in awe and disbelief as he jumped high enough to ride the robot like I did, and plunged his glowing fist straight into its core. Sparks flew and the robot started tumbling around as it prepared to self-destruct.

Deep inside me, a thought emerges, ' _Is that robot scared right now, knowing that it's about to die?_ '

Before I knew it Oscar Chase was in front of me, holding me and hugging me as if he was trying to protect me from the explosion of the robot's self-destruct sequence.

Silly Oscar Chase, I do not need to be protected.

The glow from his veins started fading away and he started checking if I was injured.

You truly are a strange man, Oscar Chase.

* * *

 _Part of me remembers. It was that nagging feeling at the back of my head. I couldn't remember it all just yet of course. It's like during those times when you try to remember the title of a song, or when you know an answer to a question but you just can't_

 _It's like your brain won't let you remember_

 _But you know it's there at the tip of your tongue right?_

 _And now my head is exploding with random thoughts-no, memories. Words like_ _ **Nexus**_ _or_ _ **Fragmented**_ _and_ _ **unstable power**_ _keep going through my head._

 _ **sundayandalltheotherfriendsihaveleftbehindihavebeenshatteredintopiecesandthisisjustoneofmeandiamnotlostiwasmeanttobehereichosetobehereandi-**_

 _I know who I am._

 _I am Oscar Chase._

 _But who exactly is Oscar Chase?_

* * *

Oscar Chase fainted after his glowing receded, and I had no choice but to carry him towards the gate. Behind me I could feel Nix and his robot body guards arriving.

I opened the portal to a random coordinate on Earth. I managed to hack the gate to close as soon as I go through and prevent anyone else from tracking down where I went. That should buy me some time.

"Don't do this Athena," I heard Nix shout at me. I didn't look back at him. I didn't say anything.

I walked closer to the portal.

"Your job is done," he continued, "Do this and we _will_ have to hunt you down."

 _I don't want to die,_ I thought, and looked at the limp body in my arms. He was pretty big for a guy his age and perhaps the image of a little girl carrying an adult man could be considered funny.

I tried to stifle a giggle and failed.

Perhaps if you were there when the portal opened up, you would've seen a little girl giggling her heart out. In her arms lay a 20 year old man who seems to wield a yet unharnessed power.

And in her pocket, she safely kept the keys to tomorrow.

And in his blood, the power to either save or destroy it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Questions**

I woke up to the sounds of a busy city and the sight of a beautiful girl standing beside me. My body ached all over from god knows what, and the hard floor I slept on didn't help. I looked around and saw that we were in what looked like an old abandoned apartment. The walls were considerably dirty and the room was a mess, it stunk like a rat's restroom and looked like a breeding place for pests.

"You're awake," Athena spoke up as she kneeled next to me. She saw me wince as I sat up and helped me stand up.

Stretching was torture, and I honestly haven't felt this shitty since the last time I exercised. I brushed whatever dirt was left on me from yesterday and thanked god that no bugs decided to make me their home.

"Why are we here?" I asked the little girl in front of me. Except she's not really a kid,is she? She's a robot designed to look like a kid. Whose idea was that I wonder; manufacturing a robot that looks like an incredibly pretty, adorable, and absolutely stunning…

"Are you alright?" Athena waved her hand in front of my face, looking worried. I must've been staring at her for longer than I thought. "Did you receive any head trauma whatsoever?"

"I'm fine," I replied with a smile, patting her head which made her look even more confused. It was honestly so cute that for a moment I could feel my aching body feeling light. I don't know if it annoyed her but she suddenly took my wrist and stopped the patting. I gave her a ' _what the heck_ ' look and she just gave it back.

"We should move out as soon as possible," She said after giving me breakfast(which was a twinky and a loaf of bread, god knows where she got that) , "Eat up. Nix's men must be looking for us, although the randomized coordinates should give us a head start."

Speaking of which, where were we?

I walked towards a closed window and cringed at the amount of dust on it. I decided to leave it alone and just ask her where we were.

"Los Angeles," she spoke as we walked out of the door to an empty hallway. The building we were in looked abandoned from inside, and yet you can feel the presence of the tenants in other rooms. I could hear the song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" blaring through the walls of one of the rooms.

 _Wake me up before you go-go_

 _'Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo_

We walked towards the back alley exit to a bright sunny day, children playing in nearby parks. The city was bustling and all the radios and TVs were all about the upcoming Summer Olympics.

 _Wake me up before you go-go_

 _Take me dancing tonight_

"Wait," I realized how strange the world around me felt. It was like being in a surreal dream, where everything looks real but the small details feel a little off. The people wore clothing that felt dated and I could see no gadget that I was used to. My brain was set to 2015, and even with limited memories I knew the lifestyle that should entail. "What's going on, what year is it?"

"1984," the robot girl next to me replied nonchalantly, walking with a pace like she knew where she was headed. "Is there a problem?"

"Kinda," I replied, weirded out by what's going on but still enjoying the scenery. I've never been to Los Angeles before nor have I been to the year 1984 neither, so it was truly a lot to take in. "My most recent memory before meeting you… well, I'm pretty sure the year was 2015."

She just looked at me, gauging me, perhaps checking if I was lying. Her eyes, for a robot, were not the kind of dead, soulless eyes you were made to expect. In fact, they were so full of life, of emotions that I felt as If instead of being a fake child, she was an improved version of one.

Or maybe that was just me?

"You're full of unknowns, Oscar Chase," she replied, looking back at the road. We were in the middle of the city now. Skyscrapers and buildings loomed above us, while I wondered how old my parents would be by this time. "Do you remember what happened before you blacked out yesterday?"

"I wanted to fight," I said, looking up and squinting at the sky, "I felt…powerful, and then my brain just kind of turned off."

"You were harnessing a strange energy," she continued like she wasn't expecting my reply, "You tore a combat droid apart without a sweat."

I looked at her like that was the first weird thing that had happened to me. My brain was having a hard time digesting all this I felt almost numb to the weirdness, and yet…

Me? Powers?

My brain was whispering the word _**nexus**_ to me like I was supposed to know what it meant. It clearly had something to do with what's going on, but it's not like I could simply put all those information together.

I sat down by the side walk and tried to collect myself.

 _One at a time,_ I whispered in my head, _One step at a time._ If I was going to solve what's going on, I had to take it slow. We'll get through this, tidbit by tidbit. I sat there breathing calmly for almost half an hour, but I don't know if it had been longer than that.

I looked up to see that some people were staring at me as they walk by, some are even dropping loose change by my feet. I wanted to smile at the situation I found myself in when I noticed…

Athena was nowhere to be found.

* * *

I walked back to the spot where I left Oscar Chase to find that he had run off. I had specifically told him to wait for me there while I scouted a potential recruit and drop a pin in her pocket.

It was possible that Nix's agents have already found him and caused him to run off, or he could've simply gotten lost. Worst case scenario was that they took him, which was very unlikely since they don't even know who he is and they should be after me.

My thought processes were cut off as I noticed a black Bentley Eight driving around the corner. All its passengers looked like businessmen with their suits and ties, and yet something about them seems off. There's a very high chance that these are animatronics sent by Nix to look for me, so I turned away as quickly as I could and started walking casually to look for Oscar Chase.

Did they notice me? It doesn't seem too likely with the way they were still driving nonchalantly around.

I saw someone that looked like Oscar Chase by my peripherals and walked towards him. Meanwhile, the suspicious vehicle had parked by a sidewalk and the passengers were starting to walk out.

They must have already noticed me, in retrospect I should have probably changed clothes since I was still wearing the dress Nix last saw me in.

I started walking faster and tried not to look too obvious, the person that looked like Oscar Chase was not him and I had to turn a corner to keep looking.

I had to disappear and blend in, and I have to do it fast.

I turned round a building, and checked if I was out of their vision. Maybe I could run for it and lose them in this crowd.

And then I saw him.

* * *

I couldn't find Athena anywhere, dammit I just know she was still there before I started moping by the sidewalk. Maybe I should've just stayed and waited where I was instead of running off to look for her, she's a clever bot and for all we know she just scouted the area and had already come back for me.

But no, my stupid brain wanted me to look for her. Here, in this strange foreign city from a different time.

 _You'd make a perfect dad,_ I scolded myself, _Losing a little girl in the first half hour in the city_.

Yeah, but she's a robot girl, isn't she? And a smart one at that. It's not her you should worry about, after all the one with a lot of mysterious bullshit surrounding them is you.

She said I was harnessing energy in my body? And the fact that I may have time travelled to wherever Athena was before I lost my memory?

Seriously, what the hell.

I jumped in surprise as I felt something small but strong grab my arm. I let out the ultimate sigh of relief as I saw that it was Athena that grabbed me.

"Where in the bloody world did you go?" She whispered, holding onto my arm like a sweet kid. From an outsider's point of view, we'd look like Father and Daughter indeed. Though I'd much rather prefer if we looked like a couple.

"You left me," I whispered in reply, wondering why we had to be so stealthy, "I was looking for you."

"I gave you very clear instructions to wait for me," She hissed, snuck a look behind us and started walking faster. "Now they're onto me again and I lost track of my recruit."

I looked back and saw what looked like business men in black suit and tie walking casually toward us. After all the movies I've seen, I just know for a damn fact that these people are definitely after us.

They saw me looking and started to run at us, a hand inside their suits like they were about to take out their guns. That's some Hollywood shit right there.

"Run," Athena said, pulling me with her.

Well this was a nice way to start the day.

* * *

We started running as fast as we could, and to my surprise Oscar Chase was able to keep up with me. At first glance, his body looked very average and didn't seem like he was built for stamina. To be honest my first impression of him was that he was a couch potato that somehow managed to not become obese or too overweight.

"Why are they after us again?" Oscar Chase spoke through bits of panting. We had run into some kind of park and made sure we were near plenty of civilians to prevent Nix's agents from using their weapons.

"'Cause they want to take me back and disassemble me," I replied, looking for our best exit strategy, "Also they don't want me to recruit any more potential bright minds."

"Can't we fight back?" He asked, looking back every now and then, "I mean you've got to have some moves right?"

"Too many civilians!" I shouted at him, not having the guts to say that we are currently outnumbered and even with my ' _moves_ ' we were still at a disadvantage. I saw some kind of parade marching through the middle of the park, "Over there! We could lose them in the crowd."

We ran straight for the mass of people and hoped that we could slip out with no problems whatsoever.

* * *

"Well," I tried to speak while panting, I put my hand on the wall in the alley we hid in and leaned, "That's enough exercise for a day."

"Agreed." Athena replied, barely looking fazed, "We should lay low, no, even lower…"

She held the hem of her dress and we both noticed how dirty our clothes were.

"We need a change of clothes," we both said at the same time.

Keeping as stealthy as possible, we managed to make it to a nearby department store without any incidence. We were looking at the bargain area when a saleslady came up to assist us.

"Thanks, miss, we're good," Athena smiled sweetly at the lady, "Say, have you ever thought about doing something…more?"

Basically, I just stood there looking for clothes while Athena started talking to the lady like she was some kind of chosen one who was destined for greatness. Athena went on and on about having the lady check her pocket, and something about a promise for a better tomorrow, something the lady can supposedly help achieve.

"What was that about?" I asked as we went to the changing room. I almost screamed when Athena entered mine and didn't look like she was leaving. I kinda like where this is going, to be honest.

"I was trying to recruit her," she replied nonchalantly. She had picked what looked like white long sleeves, red pants and suspenders, and saw me eyeing her suspiciously, "What? This is trendy."

"You're in my changing room."

"Last time I left you alone you disappeared on me."

"So you do care about me," I grinned as I tried on a striped turtleneck and denims. Ugh, I hate that constricting feeling, plus this outfit makes me look like a sex offender. I took it off and tried on a simple v-neck instead (even though it had contrasting color designs which bugged me). "I thought I was just a stowaway in your mission."

"You're a wild card, Oscar Chase," Athena started taking her clothes off, and I honestly considered looking away. Then again, she doesn't seem to care much about modesty so I decided to enjoy the show, "You're looking bothered again."

"This is a good kind of bothered," I said, feeling my cheeks burn up. By this time she had shed off the dress and was standing in nothing but her underwear. For a robot, her body really looks like a kid's and her skin feels so real. I couldn't help but touch her as she stood half-naked in front of me. "Look, I should tell you at least the only thing I'm sure about myself right now."

"Which would be?" She asked as my hand grazed the smooth skin on her chest (no not THAT part of her chest,more like where her cleavage would be if she had any boobs). She noticed my hand linger, and she took it in hers, "Are you…by any chance…"

"I think I may be infatuated with you," I struggled to say and tried to use words she'll understand.

"Oh." Was all she said, but before I could explain further we heard other people coming and had to rush with putting our clothes on before someone sees us and gets the wrong idea. "Nevermind, we have other things to worry about right now."

* * *

"So…" Oscar Chase mumbled next to me as we walked back to our 'apartment'. He'd been quiet since our conversation in the changing room and I honestly am a little shaken that he considers himself infatuated with me. "About what I said…"

Why would someone even become infatuated with a robot. Plus, I was designed to look like a female child, making me too young to be of interest to-

Unless…

"Just to clarify," I spoke up as we got to our door, "Do you like me because I look like a little girl?"

"Well…" He struggled to speak, like a guilty suspect in court, "It was…definitely a factor."

"By definition then," I spoke, crossing my arms, "You are a pedophile."

"WHAT?!" Oscar Chase reeled from that statement, "Well, it depends on your definition actually. If describing me as a pedophile makes me synonymous to a child rapist or molester, then I'm not a pedophile."

"Hmm," I dug up my database for the official definition of the word, "The official definition states that pedophile is a term for someone who has a sexual preference towards children."

"And do you see me making any sexual advances toward you?" He asked with a grin.

"Not really," I replied, remembering the way he touched my chest a while ago. I wouldn't consider it sexual but it was definitely not regular human behavior. Oscar Chase looked worried when he saw me with my hand on my chest, "Regardless of what you may be defined as, you're feelings for me are still unnecessary. I am an audio animatronic, a robot… I cannot reciprocate-"

He patted my head, just like this morning, and somehow that cut me off. There was something with the way he did it, the simplicity perhaps, that was a little…surprising.

"I get it," he continued after sitting by the window, his eyes looking at the horizon. "You're just a robot, so you can't possibly like me back or so, right?"

I nodded.

"Then how about that guy you watched as he was exiled," He spoke quietly, gently, "Frank Walker, was it?"

I nodded again. How he knew his name was an issue for another time.

"Don't you have feelings for him?"

* * *

The night was awkward to say the least. After the talk we had about feelings and sexuality and what not, we didn't seem to have talked about anything else for the rest of the day. I had found an old but still working radio in the room, and used it to get updates with the news (even though it wasn't exactly 'new').

I don't know how, but I knew about Frank Walker, and how Athena felt about him. There was another name my brain keeps pushing at me, _**casey newton**_ , but I can't figure out who that is yet. Nonetheless, even Athena didn't know if she had actual feelings for Frank.

Heck, love's complicated, even for robots.

I laid on the floor with my eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling like it could answer all my questions. Athena had undergone a temporary shutdown beside me, which I think is basically robot sleep.

I looked at her with the longing of…whatever I was, and yet I had these protective, paternal feelings as well. I wanted her so bad, and I also want to protect her, to keep her safe.

 _ **To save her.**_

 _ **Becausedeepinsideyouknowdontyou?onceshemeetscaseyandfrankshesasgoodasdead**_

I put an arm over my eyes and tried to shut my brain out. The noise in my head was too loud it was giving me a migraine.

 _ **Spoiler alert,**_ my brain teases me, _**She dies and there's nothing you can do about it.**_

I stood up, walking around the room in hopes it would calm me down.

 _ **You're not powerful enough.**_

 _ **You're just a fragment.**_

 _ **You don't even belong here.**_

"ENOUGH!" I screamed and felt my insides burning up.

I look at my hands and see my veins glowing white through my skin. It was painfully bright, but it didn't hurt at all.

I raise my hand up, feeling the energy flowing through my veins.

What is this?

Is this what she was talking about?

 _ **What else would it be?**_ Shut up.

 _ **Do you remember yet,Nexus Fragment?**_ Shut the fuck up.

 _ **So much power, and this is all you're left with. You're just a walking nuclear reacto-**_

"SHUT UP!" I roared at myself and the glowing grew brighter

and brighter

and brighter

I'm going to explode aren't I?

This is it, this is how my story ends. No questions answered, and dead before I could even properly explain my feelings to the girl I'm with. We're both gonna be dead, and I'm bringing tons of people with me when I die.

I could feel it, the energy welling up. That burning desire to just go boom, like the rage you could feel when you just want shout at someone and throw a tantrum. You know it was a bad feeling, but it would feel so good to just let it out. All I had to do was let it all out, just…explode.

And then, something hit the back of my head. I fell to my knees as my brain shut down.

Athena was the last thing I saw as the world spun around me and my vision faded out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Pros and Cons

Growing up, I have always promised myself that I will never get into any vices that the generation before me had succumbed to. More specifically, drinking and smoking. I always found it absurd how the adults can have fun doing something that makes their life worse, even for a limited time of bliss. It's funny how I can remember this kind of memory now, but I'll take what I can get. I remember watching my dad drinking too much and going into a beer-induced sleep that was like comatose with a chance of vomiting, followed by a killer hangover in the morning. I always told myself I would never become like him, at the very least I would avoid the crippling vices that he had.

Basically, I don't know what a hangover is. And yet, there's a hammering in my head that I can only assume was equivalent enough to a hangover.

I heard the moan of a zombie as I sat up, only to realize that it was me. Not the zombie, just the moan.

A beautiful little girl sits on a chair across me, eyeing me intently and very cautiously. Her name is Athena, and if not for her I was sure I could've ended up using whatever power I had and killed a lot of people in a self-destructive explosion.

She looked at me as if I could still accomplish that, and I feared the same thing. Slowly, I checked myself all over both physically and mentally. I stood up, expecting tinges of pain all over my body but was surprised that only my head felt like shit.

"Are you stable?" Was all she asked, which in opinion was fair given the circumstance. "I had no choice but to knock you out, it looked like you were going nuclear."

Nuclear,huh? Could it really be possible that I had nuclear energy coursing through my veins?

"You saying that I could be a walking and talking nuke?" I asked, going to the sink to wash my face. Nothing came out of the faucet and I remembered that we were squatting in an abandoned building. I found a water bottle that we bought yesterday and poured it all over my face.

"Yes, but you seem stable now."

"Wait," I replied, wiping the water from my now awake face, "That doesn't freak you out at all?"

Athena shrugged. Not exactly the kind of reaction I'd expect from a machine.

I answered her shrug with my own, and that was how we started the day.

* * *

I advised Oscar Chase that we move out as early as possible. It would only be a matter of time before Nix' people trace us down and find where we were staying. As inconvenient as it would be for all of us, it was best to keep moving.

It was disappointing that my opportunity to recruit an individual yesterday was for naught, perhaps the other cities we would pass through along the way would have a higher probability of finding potential recruits.

We've decided to start travelling to San Diego, continually going south or even laying lower somewhere in South America.

"Looks like you have this all planned out, huh?" Oscar Chase asks, his eyes scanning the scenery outside the bus we were riding.

"More or less," I replied, "I don't really have much to go on."

Considering the materials I was made of, I could keep this up for as long as necessary. At the very least, for as much time as the world has left, or until I break. I prioritized my thought processes somewhere else, and found myself staring at this strange individual sitting next to me.

Oscar Chase, a man who randomly showed up outside of my room. He was a borderline amnesiac, with only very few personal information he could remember and no idea whatsoever as to what's going on around him or inside him. Just last night I had detected a spike of radiation emanating from his body, which implied that he could explode with enough force similar to an atomic bomb. Add that to the feat that he showed while we were escaping, using whatever that energy was to power his body and fight even a powerful droid with ease.

Frank Walker and I frequented the different R&D departments when he was young, but I don't recall seeing any android or relative human experiments that could result into whatever Oscar Chase was.

"By the way," He spoke up, nearly catching me off-guard, "I think I'm starting to remember some random stuff."

"Any information that can shed a light on your situation?" I asked, curious as to how much we could figure out regarding the mystery that is this man.

"Not really," he replied, rubbing his nape with his right palm, "But at least I now know how my family looks like, and that I love playing video games."

"Video games,huh," I mused, remembering the ones Frank Walker had introduced me to, "Have you tried Pac-Man or Space Invaders?"

"Not much of a retro gamer, sorry." He grinned, then looked like he remembered something else, "Oh that's right, I'm in the past. Guess you guys won't see any of the games I love in a couple of years."

He then proceeded to tell me of his favorite video games, one of which was for a console that was capable of rendering 3D images for the player to see. It was amusing to listen to his tales, like an old man reminiscing his childhood experiences. I decided not to tell him that his high-end game consoles were still considerably low-tech compared to the ones being developed where I came from.

"So me and my cousin were fighting this gigantic electro-wolf called a Zinog-" He stopped and looked outside with a worried look in his face. There was something distressing with the way he just went quiet that I stood up to look outside as well.

Just beside the bus was a vehicle that looks exactly like the ones that was being used by Nix's goons yesterday.

"How did they find us so soon?!" I voiced my concern quite loudly and some of the other passengers looked at us. I sat back down and pretended like I was just playing a game with my dad. I broke to a whisper, "We need to get off the bus without them noticing us."

I sneaked another glance at them, it doesn't seem as if they have seen us yet. But still, the probability of them catching up to us so soon was very low, and yet here they are. This is either a huge coincidence, or…

* * *

The bus stop we got off at happened to have quite a large crowd, so slipping out of view was fairly easy. It was only a matter of time before the suit-and-tie guys caught up to us, so we had to keep moving while looking for a place to lay low in.

"Dang it," I sighed, "I'm finally in San Diego but it's decades too early for a comic-con."

"What are you talking about?" Athena asked, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings.

"A comic convention," I replied, scanning the area myself. Since we had left Los Angeles pretty early, we had managed to arrive here at lunch time. I wanted to try eating at a diner or something, an experience my brain tells me I never had, but we didn't really have the luxury for that yet. Maybe when the heat dies down.

"I know what it is," She looked at me with a smirk, "But what do you mean decades too early? There's one happening right now."

She pointed at a large and spacious building that reminded me of my college building back when I was in a university. Large black letters are attached to a white panel, similar to what they used to do on old cinemas, saying "15th ANNUAL **SAN DIEGO COMIC CONVENTION** ".

I couldn't help but smile, finally I would be able to go to an event that has eluded me since I have learned to love geeky stuff. Although it was a 1980s version of it, which would mean that some of the things I'd love to see are not yet there, but I'll take what I can get.

Athena must've read my mind, 'because she started walking towards the building and I was more than happy to follow her.

"It could be densely populated in there," She smiled, "We could use that to our advantage."

Regardless of her seeing an opportunity we could exploit, it almost looked like something was bugging her. Don't get me wrong, Athena's got one heck of a poker face, but she looked…bothered. I decided to ask her but stopped when we had gotten to the entrance.

And of course the guy at the registration would ask for our membership tickets.

"How much for one?" Athena asked without flinching. Did she have any money on her? Cause I don't.

"25 bucks," the guy replied, "But we're sold out."

Dammit, now there's no way I was getting in there. I turned around to see the 'men in black' patrolling across the road. We were sitting ducks here, if we don't get somewhere else soon they'll see us.

"How about 30 to let us in with no questions asked?" Athena slammed what looked like money on the registration table.

Wait, she had money all this time?

Wait again, does she really think this kind of tactic would work? This isn't some kind of nightclub where we can bribe the bouncer.

* * *

"What the fuck just happened?" Oscar asked with wide-eyes, he looked happy that we were able to get in the convention center, but probably wondering why my bribing strategy worked.

"Money talks." Was all I decided to say. Let him figure it out on his own.

After all, I still had pressing matters to consider. Catching up to us this quickly, I find it hard to believe that this was all pure coincidence. Could Nix's men have a way of tracking us?

"In any case, I need to go somewhere quiet," I had to speak up, with the crowd being rowdy and all the noise from the different booths, "Meet me by the Marvel booth in 2 hours."

"Roger that," he replied, looking around mesmerized. In my opinion, there wasn't much to see, besides all these comic book developers and artists meeting up with their fans. Sure there were a lot novelty items and rare merchandise, but it wasn't something I was programmed to find worthy of passion. Looks like Oscar Chase is in an exact opposite state, though. He was clearly having fun.

Might as well let him have his fun, while he can.

We split up, with me looking for the nearest restroom and him lining up for some famous comic book artist's autograph. The amount of people and booths in the area are numerous, but I remember Oscar muttering something about this being nothing compared to what the event looked like in 2015.

It's one thing to come from a place with 'Tomorrow' in it's name, but to meet someone who claims to have literally come from tomorrow is a little far-fetched. Still, there's no doubt that Oscar Chase was telling the truth.

I found a nearby restroom and rushed towards a cubicle. Once inside, I turned off any unnecessary functions and focused on doing a complete external and internal scan of my hardwares. If there was a tracker on or in my body, I'd find it and get rid of it right here.

 _Scanning…_

 _Scanning…_

 _Scanning…_

Hmm?

I found something, although I should've known about this a long time ago. I must've ignored its existence in my hardware for a long time that it got mixed in with all the random information I've stored. Basically, I forgot about it.

A slight problem, though, it seems to be installed somewhere below my lower abdomen. The tracker itself is connected deep inside my parts, so simply opening up my stomach would be pointless. It would seem that it was placed in a manner to make it impossible to remove.

However, there could be a way, but I would need Oscar Chase's help.

* * *

The line was too long, and I don't think I want to waste even a fourth of my allotted time on an artist I don't know much about. It's too bad that there weren't any actors or actresses I care about here.

Maybe I should've asked Athena for some cash allowance, she mentioned taking all of her collected cash before leaving her room. Then again, I doubt we should be wasting any precious moolah to buy collectibles. We are on the run, after all.

I walked around aimlessly instead, realizing that this'd be more fun if my friends or family were with me.

Speaking of which, friends? Did I have those?

Without knowing it I had already dug deep in my brain, trying to remember faces and names of people I hung out with. Plenty of blurred images seem to be passing through my head, like the title of a song you just know is on the tip of your tongue.

It's no use, I just can't forcefully remember anything. My mind doesn't seem to be very cooperative lately. Then again, I guess my brain was never cooperative since I've learned to use it.

But if I can't get a hold of my memories, perhaps I'll have a better chance of managing my powers instead.

I looked at my hands like they were someone else's, an incredibly faint glow makes my veins seem more visible than usual. Closing them both in a grip, I feared that pure plasma or whatever kind of energy might suddenly shoot out of them. How was I supposed to understand, let alone master, this kind of ability? Super hero movies make it seem so easy.

Feeling the flow of energy inside me, I close my eyes and try to keep my mind blank, trying to let instinct run its course.

A pulse.

I could feel a gentle pulse travelling from my heart to the tips of my fingers. Slightly similar to the way you could sometimes feel the blood pulsing in your veins, or when you put your thumb over your wrist.

This is it, I just need to focus on this feeling. If I do it right, I might be able to get a handle on this weird power of mine. For all I know this power might have cost me my memory, so I plan to make the most out of it.

Something grabbed my arm and yanked hard enough to snap me out of my focus. I nearly lost my balance and stumbled around to see Athena pulling me through the crowd.

"I need your help," She whispers without looking at me, focusing on her path towards…wherever she was going.

A little robot girl, who has saved my hide multiple times, needs my help?

This I've got to see.

* * *

"WAIT! I DON'T NEED TO SEE THIS!" Oscar Chase tried to scream as quietly as possible, as I had warned him to stay as quiet as possible prior to dragging him into the female-designated restroom. He was fumbling and looked unsure whether he was going to cover his face or not, "…At least, not yet…"

In retrospect, I should probably have explained the situation first before taking my pants off. We are under a lot of time pressure and I feared that explaining the current situation to him might waste too much of the small amount of time we had.

"I need you to remove a tracking device they had installed in me," I said, making sure that there was nobody else around in the restroom. The cubicles were too small so we had to make do near the sink. I closed the main door, noticed it didn't lock from the inside, and felt an even more urgent need to get this over with as quickly as possible. "Nix was clever enough to install the trackers inside the animatronics in a way in which they can't remove it by themselves without actual dismantling."

"I don't see how taking your pants off has anything to do with that."

I ignored him and took my underwear off, making Oscar squeal in a way that was similar to a piglet or a kitten, "I found a possible loophole, a pipeline where an external individual can reach in and remove the tracker."

Oscar Chase was staring at my crotch, something I was expecting. Our manufacturers had made sure that we would look like human children in every aspect, and with the way he seemed scared and hypnotized I assumed that I was also designed with realistic-looking human genitals.

"Oscar Chase, focus." I slapped him lightly, breaking his daze.

"Wait," He said, looking at me and occasionally looking down, "Pipeline? Reach in? I don't like where this is going."

I grabbed his hand, unsure if this plan was going to work. Regardless, it's better than running around with Nix's men always on our tail, "I need you to put your hand inside my-"

"OHMYGOD."

"-and reach inside to get the tracker out."

"OHSHIT. I am so going to hell for this." Oscar Chase looked even more troubled yet enthusiastic than before.

"I expect the tracker to be somewhere around here," I said, pointing somewhere below my waist and above my crotch, "Approximately where a human female's womb would be."

Pushing myself up, I sat on top of the sink, spreading my legs in front of a panicking Oscar Chase. He had both hands on his head as if he was suffering a migraine.

"W—Why does it look so real?!"

* * *

It's been hours since me and my friends arrived at the convention. I was hoping to see Stan Lee or Jack Kirby or any of the other artists and comic writers in the event and at least get an autograph from one of them. Me and the other guys had split up looking for things to do and probably even find some geeky girls to hang out with.

"Hi," I spotted a nice looking girl behind me in line and tried acting as decent as possible, "Nice to meet you, I'm -"

She ignored me completely.

Well at least my friends are somewhere else and not here to see my absolute failure. I used up all my savings to come here in hopes of something-anything, to happen. My life was this boring pile of shit and I am only a few steps away from being a complete background character.

I sighed, losing my motivation to line up for the meet and greet with some guy I don't even care about, and decided to just walk around. Maybe just get away from all this noise.

The quietest place I could find, ironically and unexpectedly, was nearby the restrooms. Weirdly enough, no one was 'giving a shit' or taking a piss in either rooms. Maybe these ones are closed? Only the female restroom's door is closed though.

Wait, I think I heard something when I walked past the female restroom. I stood still and kept my head near the door.

"Ugh, it's squishier that I thought." A guy's voice whispered inside.

"And…I didn't…expect sensory installations…in that area," A younger, girl-sounding voice moaned. I'm a virgin, but I've seen enough erotic movies to know what the sounds I'm hearing are.

WAS SOMEONE HAVING SEX IN THERE?!

* * *

Almost there.

Trying my best to disregard the fact that I had just fisted a robot designed to look like a child, with what I hope is motor oil or some kind of lubricant running down my arm, I keep on feeling around Athena's…um, 'insides' for the tracker. She told me that it would be diamond-shaped, and she'd be able to tell if I got my hand on it.

"I…" Athena was twitching uncontrollably, and I have noticed that her breathing had become harder and faster. "I did not expect to feel either pain or pleasure…"

"Should I stop?" I asked, knowing that it's a little too late for that.

All of a sudden, the robot girl jerked up and put both arms around me with such force and vivacity that I could feel her nearly crushing my ribs. I felt more 'motor oil' gush down my already wet arm, and it made it easier to bring my hand deeper. I heard a whimper escape her mouth and part of me wondered if she just-

"I think I got it!" I shouted as my hands closed down on a piece of hot metal that fit the tracker's description.

Then the door burst open.

Some random guy stood quietly with eyes wide open, staring at us like we were ghosts. Athena was sitting on the sink stark naked, her legs clamped around my waist. My hand was still deep inside her, something that was probably obvious from where the guy stood. I did not dare remove my hand as I had already grabbed what could be the tracker and I was just waiting for Athena's go signal, assuming that she had not accidentally fainted or something.

"What the hell…" the guy whispered, his face looking at me like I was some demon or something. "I'm calling the police!"

The random guy ran out before I could explain myself.

"Ignore him," Athena whispered, still clinging to me, her lips uncomfortably close to my ear, "Take the tracker out."

I closed my grip as tight as I could, and yanked my hand out quickly. The sudden yanking must've surprised Athena as I heard a cute squeak followed by a crushing feeling when she tightened her hold on me.

The tracking device looked basic, like a metallic cookie with a red blinking LED in its center.

Athena jumped down from the sink, but had to hold on to me to stay upright. Her legs shook and I assumed she'll have a hard time walking for a while, which makes what I did to her seem even more realistic.

She noticed my concern, "I'll be fine," and put her underwear and pants back on. "Support me until the gears in my limbs go back to normal. I don't understand how or why, but I feel weak."

"Yeah," I replied, holding her beside me like a drunk friend. From afar I could hear the security making its way toward us.

I dropped the wet tracker on an open backpack and walked as fast as I could towards a fire exit.

Once we make it out of here, we should be safe.

Or at the very least, safer.

* * *

After seeing what I just saw, I wanted to vomit everything I just ate, crawl under my bed and just lie down there like a fetus and suck my thumb. Everything happened too fast, but I know that I saw and adult male with his hand inside a little girl. To think that this would happen at SDCC!

I run around looking for security or anyone who can arrest the child molester in the female restroom, afraid that he'd be long gone when I get the authorities.

Two men suddenly came out from the crowd and I nearly crashed on them. I managed to stop right in front of them and they asked me if there was any problem. Looking them over, I noticed they were in business-like formal attires, reminding of FBI and CIA characters in those Holywood movies.

I told them that I was just looking to report a security issue and they said that I could tell them what the matter was.

So I did.

And then they pointed something at me.

* * *

Two men wearing black tuxedos were waiting for us when we got outside.

"We need to escort you back to Governor Nix," one of them said with a smile. I figured they must have seen us in the convention and waited for us by the backdoor exit instead. "Please leave the recruit you just had intercourse with and come with us."

"He's not…" Athena muttered but was still too weak to stand up against the two of them. It was getting obvious that I had two choices, carry Athena and run away or fight both of them on my own. Both choices have a high probability of failure. The little robot girl let go of me and tried standing up by herself, but couldn't and ended up kneeling with one knee on the ground.

"Strange, I was not aware that copulation would weaken you." The other tuxedo guy asked. "Nevertheless, we will take you back now."

I didn't take time to think and stood in front of Athena, deep inside I'm trying to dig in and feel that pulse in my veins. Looking over at Athena, kneeling helplessly behind me, I had no choice but to try to use the power I know I have inside.

The only issue is controlling it.

I steady my breathing, looking at the two assailants in front of me. Trying my best to empty my thoughts, I calm myself and become a blank slate, allowing for instinct to take over me. My subconscious started surfacing and I could feel an innate memory coming back.

Noise. No, music, perhaps a song. The title comes into my head like it was what I needed right now.

It was Energy by a band called Skillet.

 _I can't escape your energy_

The pulsing in my veins grow stronger, like lava flowing inside my body. My skins starts feeling hotter, as if I was about to let out steam from my pores.

I look at my hands, and the veins had started glowing an illuminated blue, getting brighter and hotter every second.

 _I can't escape your energy_

Deep in my head, a voice that was both mine and not mine were giving me orders, telling me things I could do and things I might be able to try. It was noisy inside my brain, but it was a harmonic kind of noise, like it was relaxing me.

 _I can't escape your energy_

I pointed my right hand on one of the tuxedo goons, their faces failing to hide the shock and fear of the unknown variable in front of them. My open palm started feeling hotter than the rest of my body, glowing brighter and almost looking like light itself was materializing around it.

 _You're the sun and rain, you're a hurricane_

 _You are everything I cannot see and can't explain_

A blue bolt of light shot out of my outstretched hand, a ball of pure energy that I could swear felt like it was an extension of my own body. The blue bolt struck the enemy's chest with a violent splash, sparks of electricity exploding around him. He falls to the ground with a big hole in his chest, metal shards falling from his new cavity.

 _You're an enigma wrapped in a mystery_

 _Everywhere I go, I can't escape your energy_

I don't understand how I did it, but I felt comfortable that I could do it again, perhaps even more. I knew just as much as a toddler who learned how to walk without knowing how he did exactly. And now that toddler is running around, ready to make the most of this skill as if he knew he was destined to have it.

The other guy looked at me with rage I did not expect from these so-called emotionless mechanisms, and he charged at me with reckless abandon.

I readied myself, putting my fists up and taking a stance. The energy within my body started rising gradually, like the way a solar flare looks so calm regardless of its obvious power. I feel the strange energy within me spike up, and I knew I was ready for battle.

I sprinted at him, boxer-style, with both my arms raised to protect my face, and shifted aside in the split second he attacked. With the whole world looking like it was in slow-motion, I shifted my feet, pulled back my right shoulder, and let out a wound-up blow. My fist, looking like a glowing blue orb, connected with his excuse for a face, causing it to disintegrate in an instant. The leftover parts from his neck up flew violently to the ground, with his headless mechanical body dropping next to his partner.

I turned around and saw Athena looking at me with fear and distrust. Was she afraid that I had lost control, about to attack her or explode like a nuclear bomb?

She saw that I still had sanity in my eyes, that much I could tell, but Athena still looked like she was ready to knock me out if I lost control again. Something I don't plan on ever letting happen again.

"Hey," I raised both hands up in surrender, "It's me. I'm okay."

 _Yeah_ , I thought, _It_ _ **is**_ _me._

And we'll be okay.


End file.
